Liquidators Tracy Lee Knight and William John Fletcher, of Bentleys Corporate Recovery, said the workers were expected to receive their entitlements.

A company worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said staff had suspected the company was in trouble in the lead-up to the liquidation announcement.

“We were getting (our account) put on hold with a lot of companies,’’ he said.

“In saying that, since I’ve been there, it’s been going off and on. They’d be on hold with companies, then we’d pay the bills and we’d be back on track again.”

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland spokesman Nick Behrens said flat sales and rising input costs, coupled with the historically high Australian dollar and increases in labour costs over the last six years have placed businesses under enormous financial pressure.

“Electricity prices have increased for manufacturing in the order of about 120% over the last eight years,” he said.

But Mr Behrens said things were looking up for those companies that could survive the onslaught.

“Everyone is in agreement that what is around the corner is better than what has been.”